Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Bills beat Chiefs by a foot, win 20-17

Originally posted on Buffalo Fanatics | By Bryce Martino | Last updated Dec 10, 2023 10:47 PM ET

Well, this was another typical 2023 outing by the Buffalo Bills. This time, they start out hot on both sides of the ball, but finish the game stalling out on offense. This has become the new norm around the 716, unfortunately this happened while they face Patrick Mahomes. Fortunately, the defense got a stop late in the game to bring in the win. So, what are the takeaways from this game?

The offense can’t capitalize off of the turnovers

The defense forced two turnovers (an AJ Epenesa INT and Christian Benford fumble), and the offense came away with zero points. For a team that has been near the top in the league in points, you’d think the offense would’ve capitalized more on those today.

For a team that’s supposedly great in points off turnovers, this has been a brutal outing for the #Bills offense. Your defense creates 2 turnovers, and you have 0 points to show for it.
— Names Bryce (@BillsByBryce) December 10, 2023

They let James Cook, until they didn’t

In the first half, James Cook had 83 receiving yards, including one TD. After that, he was quiet the rest of the game. The Buffalo Bills started to go away from Cook and more towards Diggs and Kincaid, which contributed to them stalling out and only mustering six points in the second half.

Micah Hyde’s time may unfortunately be up

Hyde suffered a neck stinger late in the first half before missing the remainder of the game. Hyde had a neck fusion in the off-season, and has had multiple stingers this season. Hyde’s contract is up after this year, and this may be it for him.

It’s suddenly cool to like McDermott after a victory

Whether you like him or not, the perspective has changed after the win. Prior to the game, and during the game, the fans were still calling for McDermott’s head. Now, they love him. The team, in general, failed to execute today, which falls on him as the HC. Let’s hope they can clean it up if they want to make a playoff run.

Turnovers need to be cleaned up

These turnovers can’t happen continuously if you want to make a playoff run. Josh Allen’s INT streak is up to nine games now, and most of them have come at critical times. The Eagles INT proved costly to their hopes for a victory, and today’s almost cost them.

This article first appeared on Buffalo Fanatics and was syndicated with permission.

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